Buying my rented house - Any different?

[Sycamore]

Morning,

My girlfriend and I currently rent a house which we've had the landlords get valued.

The price is something we're in agreement with and have let the landlords know.

With there being no chain, or even anyone needing to move, would the mortgage process be any different?

We're both first time buyers so a little unsure on what's what.

I've gotten in touch with a mortgage broker I know for the time being, and also for peace of mind have gotten an agreement-in-principle just to ensure we can actually get a mortgage while the broker does their thing.

Just not too sure on what the order of things would be?

I'm assuming we'll need to find our own solicitors to process everything from our end.

Any help/advice for 2 relative property noobs would be much appreciated. Of course, I'm sure the broker will/should be telling us this a little further down the line?

Danke

[Sarnie]

Your broker should be answering all of these queries for you, ask them.........they would have told you not to be applying for additional AIP's too.

The process is no different when buying the rented house you live in

[Tim330]

Less stress on moving day if something goes wrong, no need to unpack.

[Sycamore]

Sarnie said:

Your broker should be answering all of these queries for you, ask them.........they would have told you not to be applying for additional AIP's too.

The process is no different when buying the rented house you live in

Thank you. Guess I'm just a little eager/excited/naïve.

Tim330 said:

Less stress on moving day if something goes wrong, no need to unpack.

Maybe for effect we should load everything into a Luton and then immediately unload it.

[LeoSayer]

Not sure about the mortgage process but if it was me I'd be looking to conclude the rental agreement and deposit return as part of the contract so that there's no loose ends afterwards.

But as has been said before - ask the lawyer and make sure you get one that has experience of this.

[quinny100]

I did this years ago with a flat the landlord wanted to sell and I couldn't be bothered moving, so I bought it. I got a mortgage in-branch with Skipton who couldn't have been more helpful.

There was nothing different about the process, apart from a little confusion when giving my address as the same address as the property I was buying, and it was straightforward - I was on holiday in Spain on the day we completed.

IIRC it wasn't possible to use the deposit money in the deal because it was held by one of the protection agencies, but I think my solicitor made it a condition of contract that the DPS would be requested to release the deposit upon completion and I got the money back a week or so later.

You just need to instruct a solicitor who is on your lender's approved panel - so you might be better determining who the lender is going to be first, but most conveyancing solicitors are on all of the mainstream lenders panels. If you don't use a panel solicitor you'll have to pay the lender more money for their legal fees.

Edited by quinny100 on Monday 10th May 12:27

[Venisonpie]

I did this years ago and still live in the property. Only thing that was a bit of a ballache was retrieving the spare keys from the letting agent who didn't believe what had happened.

[Sy1441]

We did the opposite recently and sold a property to the tenants. It's particularly easy if you both use the same solicitors and if the landlord and tenant have a good relationship already it tends to go smoothly.

[Sycamore]

Thank you for the responses, it's good to hear.

I hadn't considered using the same solicitor as the landlords - I'll just need to check whether I end up tied to particular solicitors with the eventual lender.

We get on well with the landlords and they own a fair few properties, so I'm optimistic on it being a fairly easy process.

[PurpleTurtle]

Sycamore said:

Thank you for the responses, it's good to hear.

I hadn't considered using the same solicitor as the landlords - I'll just need to check whether I end up tied to particular solicitors with the eventual lender.

We get on well with the landlords and they own a fair few properties, so I'm optimistic on it being a fairly easy process.

I'm not sure that's such a good idea (or even allowed?) as there is a surely conflict of interest.

Whilst I'm sure that you are happy with the house and will not have a lot of worries that come with buying blind (you know there isn't a psychopath living next door, for example), your solicitor needs to go over the deeds with a fine toothcomb, to make you aware of anything unusual that the Landlord may not have told you about. For this reason alone I would appoint my own, either locally or online.

Ditto a Homebuyer's Report or Survey .... you've not had the hassle of maintenance until now. Does it need a new roof/boiler etc at great expense so your Landlord is happy to shift it on to you? Buy as if you are not already resident.

Moving can be incredibly stressful, so it sounds an ideal choice if you are happy there. You should for comedy effect perhaps pack a box and then turn up at the alloted time of exchange and complain that the incumbents haven't moved out yet!

Good luck.

[S6PNJ]

PurpleTurtle said:

Sycamore said:

I hadn't considered using the same solicitor as the landlords

I'm not sure that's such a good idea (or even allowed?) as there is a surely conflict of interest.

Same company, not actual individual solicitor / band of merry men (as basically no solicitor does the work, they are just the 'last step of the process' in my experience).

[Mr Dendrite]

Venisonpie said:

I did this years ago and still live in the property. Only thing that was a bit of a ballache was retrieving the spare keys from the letting agent who didn't believe what had happened.

In a similar situation a few years ago I ordered new locks for all the doors and the when I got confirmation the house was mine, first job I changed all the locks. No worries about who has old keys!
Also it made the house feel mine rather than rented, if that makes any sense.